The Universal Word
With this drink you can speak every language in the world
In the noisy babel of global languages and cultures, there lies a unique word that resonates across continents and communities: “coffee.” This beloved beverage, central to myriad rituals from morning routines to social gatherings, has etched its name not just in our taste buds but also in our diverse lexicons.
Unlike “tea,” which linguistically diverges into variations like “tea” and “cha,” depending on cultural influences, “coffee” exhibits a striking linguistic consistency worldwide.
From the vibrant street cafes of Paris to the intimate coffee houses in Istanbul, and from the aromatic espresso bars of Rome to the sacred coffee ceremonies in Yemen, the word “coffee” weaves a story of universal appeal and cultural convergence.
However, there’s an intriguing twist in its birthplace, Ethiopia. Let’s return to the beginning to find out why.
The Birth of Coffee
The most popular legend about the discovery of coffee revolves around an Ethiopian goat herder named Kaldi. According to the myth, Kaldi noticed that his goats became unusually lively and energetic after eating the red berries from a particular bush.
Intrigued by this discovery, he tried the berries himself and experienced a similar invigorating effect. The story goes that a monk observed this and took some of the berries to his fellow monks at a monastery. Initially, the monks disapproved of the berries, considering them to be the “devil’s work” and threw them into a fire.
However, as the berries roasted, they gave off a delightful aroma. The roasted beans were then raked from the embers, ground up, and dissolved in hot water, yielding the world’s first cup of coffee.
Tracing the Roots: The Arabic Influence
The Arabic word “قهوة” (qahwa) originally referred to a type of wine, and over time, it came to be associated with this coffee drink, which began its large scale cultivation in Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula.
As coffee made its way from the Middle East via trade routes, the Arabic “qahwa” was adapted into various languages. In Turkish, it became “Kahve,” while in Hindi, it is known as “कॉफ़ी” (koffee). The Italian “caffè” and the Dutch “koffie” are early European adaptations of the word. These versions then influenced other European languages, resulting in the English “coffee,” the German “Kaffee,” and the Russian “Кофе.”
Coffee with a K
The universal appeal of coffee is mirrored in the remarkable consistency with which its name is pronounced across the globe. This phonetic kinship transcends linguistic barriers, presenting a unique case of global linguistic unity — not just as loan words amongst Indo-European languages, but cognates across the world:
Indo-European: German (Kaffee [ˈkafeː]), Dutch (Koffie [‘kɔ.fi]), Swedish (Kaffe [‘kafːɛ]), Spanish (Café [‘ka.fe]), Italian (Caffè [kaf’fɛ]), Portuguese (Café [‘ka.fi]), Russian (Кофе [‘kofʲɪ]), Hindi (कॉफ़ी [‘kɔː.fiː]), Persian (قهوه [‘qæh.ve]), Punjabi (ਕੌਫ਼ੀ [koː.fiː])
Sino-Tibetan: Mandarin Chinese (咖啡 [kʰa˥˩.fei˥˩])
Japonic: Japanese (コーヒー [koː.hiː])
Koreanic: Korean (커피 [kʰʌ.pi])
Turkic: Turkish (Kahve [‘kah.ve])
Austronesian: Indonesian (Kopi [‘kɔ.pi])
Dravidian: Tamil (காபி [‘kaː.pi])
Austroasiatic: Vietnamese (Cà phê [kàˀ fê])
Kra-Dai: Thai (กาแฟ [kaː.fɛː])
Niger-Congo: Hausa (Kofi [‘ko.fi]), Swahili (Kahawa [ka.ha.wa]), Zulu (Ikofi [iː.ko.fi])
Uralic: Finnish (Kahvi [‘kɑh.ʋi])
Altaic: Mongolian (Кофе [kofe])
Tai-Kadai: Lao (ກາເຟ [kaː.fe])
Quechuan: Quechua (Kape [‘ka.pe])
Even in Basque, famous as a language isolate that doesn’t belong to any of the known language families, the word for coffee is … Kafea [‘ka.fe.a].
Taking a Buna Break in Ethiopia
While “coffee” has woven its way through countless languages with remarkable uniformity, coffee’s birthplace, Ethiopia, is a surprising outlier. Here, the beloved drink is known as “ቡና” (buna) in the Amharic language, and related languages Afar and Oromo.
The difference between ‘buna’ and ‘coffee’ might be readily explained if Amharic and Arabic were unrelated languages.
But that isn’t the case.
Amharic and Arabic are both Afroasiatic languages. In fact, Amharic is the second-most spoken Semitic language in the world after Arabic, being the official language of Ethiopia.
Rather than departing from Arabic, the word “buna” is drawing a finer distinction between “قهوة” (qahwa), which was the term for the beverage itself, and the Arabic word “بُنّ” (bunn), which specifically refers to the coffee berry. That word in turn comes the classical Syriac ܒܽܘܢܳܐ (būnā) — which referred to “barley soaked in water”.
So, an exception to the linguistic commonality of coffee rule is just a deeper echo of coffee’s own linguistic roots.
This reminds us that at least a few things, like the enjoyment of a good cup of coffee, are universal and deeply rooted in shared history. It’s a drink, a word, and most importantly, a point of connection that transcends geographical and linguistic boundaries.
I don’t speak most of the languages used in this article — fortunately, ChatGPT did. Explore other ways to use it to learn more about language here:
